1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vacuum cleaner. More particularly, the present invention relates to a dust separating apparatus mounted in a vacuum cleaner body to separate and collect dust included in drawn-in air.
2. Description of the Related Art
General vacuum cleaners comprise a dust separating apparatus which draws in dust-laden air using a suction force generated by a suction motor mounted in a cleaner body and separates dust from the drawn-in air.
Generally, after centrifugally separating the dust from the drawn-in air, the dust separating apparatus discharges clean air to the outside and collects the separated dust in a dedicated dust collecting chamber.
The dust separating apparatus comprises a cyclone body for centrifugally separating the dust, a suction path formed along a circumference of the cyclone body, and a discharge path formed on an upper portion of the cyclone body.
According to the above configuration, the dust-laden air drawn in through the suction path from a surface being cleaned is separated into clean air and dust in the cyclone body by a centrifugal force. Here, the cleaned air is discharged out through the discharge path while the dust is collected in the cyclone body.
In order to enhance dust separating efficiency, a multi-cyclone dust separating apparatus comprising a plurality of cyclones has recently been developed. For example, as disclosed in Korean Patent Application No. 10-2003-0062520, which is the prior application of the present application, a dust separating apparatus comprises a first cyclone for separating relatively rough dust and a plurality of second cyclones formed along an outer circumference of the first cyclone to separate relatively fine dust.
The multi-cyclone dust separating apparatus can improve the dust separating efficiency by sequentially arranging a plurality of cyclones. However, in the multi-cyclone dust separating apparatus, an air path is formed long and a course of airflow becomes complex, thereby deteriorating an initial suction force and increasing loss of pressure. Accordingly, researches for overcoming such problems have been being activated.